Dec. 3, 2012
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Nefertiti hunts for flies inside her habitat on board the International Space Station. / NASA

by Dan Vergano, USA TODAY

by Dan Vergano, USA TODAY

Nefertiti, the space-traveling spider who seemed destined to spin out her retirement in an insect zoo, died over the weekend of natural causes, Smithsonian Museum of Natural History officials said on Monday.

"Neffi" was 10 months old at the time of her death. She left no survivors. Museum chief Kirk Johnson had just welcomed the jumping spider, who had recently returned from 100 days aboard the International Space Station, to the museum's O. Orkin Insect Zoo in a ceremony Thursday.

Jumping spiders normally live for about one year.

"The unexpected loss of this special animal who inspired so many imaginations will be felt throughout the Museum community," said spokeswoman Kelly Carnes in a statement. "The body of Nefertiti will be added to the Museum's collection of specimens where she will continue to contribute to our understanding of spiders."

Nefertiti was the first jumping spider to successfully return from space, where she had circled Earth about 1,580 times, and traveled approximately 41,580,000 miles, according to NASA.

The "Spidernaut" was part of a You Tube Space Lab experiment proposed by an 18-year-old student from Egypt, Amr Mohamed, who wanted to see if jumping spiders could adjust hunting techniques to the weightlessness of space. Nefertiti had indeed adjusted to microgravity and continued catching her prey, feats broadcast to students around the world.